


Corruption in the Ranks

by LyingHonesty



Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-10-15 21:55:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10558324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyingHonesty/pseuds/LyingHonesty
Summary: Keeping secrets can be hard. It can hurt. This one secret might just kill the twins, but they have to keep it. To protect themselves and each other, no one else can know. Though, are they really protecting themselves?





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RagdollDark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RagdollDark/gifts).



> Edited 5/22/2017 with help from RagdollDark, who is gracious enough to beta this gift fic for them.

“Fer Primus’ sake, Sideswipe!”

Ironhide’s shout echoed through the halls of the Ark, following on the heels of Sideswipe himself, laughing as he ran. It was a typical start to the day for those stationed in the Autobots’ Earth base. The crew and officers were quick to hide their smiles if Ironhide looked their way, but Sideswipe’s pranks had put them all into a good humor once again. They kept it to themselves and their immediate neighbors, not wanting to direct Ironhide’s building frustration on themselves. Already, his voice had a distinct strain in it that suggested he was pushing the limits of his vocal components.

A few Autobots sighed and shook their helms, and others flinched at the sound of shrieking metal, a sure sign that Ironhide had been giving chase and managed to yank a door right off its track. They all knew that Prowl wasn’t going to be happy that he had busted up yet another door in his anger. The weapons specialist himself wasn’t happy about it, either, as he came to a stop to double check the damage. He just ticked it off on the list of problems he blamed on Sideswipe, something to make his subordinate repair as soon as he managed to pin him down.

“One o’ these days, kid, yer gonna go too far,” he snarled, checking himself now and rotating his shoulder to make sure he hadn’t damaged any of the more delicate components. He didn’t need Ratchet on his aft about it again. It seemed to be working fine, so he turned away from the door and stomped down the hall, grumbling to himself. “Idiot’s gonna get someone killed one day wit’ that attitude o’ his. Why can’t he just follow orders like a good soldier?”

A heavy weight fell on his shoulder – the same one he’d tested a moment ago. Well, at least now he knew for sure that he hadn’t damaged the damn thing, since if he had that would have hurt like the Pit. He tilted his helm back and looked up at Optimus Prime, frowning. Optimus had his mask folded away, as he usually did within the base. At that moment, however, he wished that he couldn’t see the stern expression Prime had fixed him with. “He follows orders on the battlefield, Ironhide, and that is enough, don’t you think? The games he plays do no harm to the cause, and he’s still so very young. Too many of us have been forced to grow up before we were ready, and I find that I am relieved to see my Autobots tapping into that youthful nature this far into the war. Let him have his fun.”

“But Prime-“

“I mean it, Ironhide. Enough is enough.”

Ironhide heaved a weighty sigh – one of many expressions he and the other Autobots had picked up from their human allies. “Fine. Ah’ll drop it.”

Optimus’s expression softened somewhat. “Thank you, Ironhide. I know it must be difficult for you, but perhaps one day you’ll come to appreciate Sideswipe’s pranks.” Ironhide snorted derisively and waved Optimus away.  He knew that there were important ‘Autobot leader’ things to be doing. Normally he discouraged his Prime from working too hard, but he wanted the attention off of himself now.

He watched Optimus’s back as he walked away, and waited until he was out of sight before making his way to the shooting range. A few hours of target practice would definitely do him some good. Maybe he’d work off that frustration that he had about Sideswipe, though he certainly doubted it. Even target practice had lost its relaxing effect when it came to Sideswipe and his pranks, and Ironhide knew he’d need a better method for stress relief sooner than later.

It was only Ironhide and one or two other higher ranked officers who actively protested the pranks, and only Ironhide was vehemently against  _ any  _ prank the red hellion played. Others might grumble about it in the privacy of their barracks, but by and large they let Sideswipe carry on with his fun, seeing as it didn’t harm anyone and seemed to boost the majority of the crew’s spirits.

No matter what reasoning anyone gave to allow Sideswipe to continue his games, however, Ironhide was determined to get someone on his side, to do something about the ‘little menace’. He was growing more and more agitated as time went on and it drove him to crazy that no one, not even Prime, listened to his concerns over the whole situation. There were only so many times he could bring Sideswipe up on charges of insubordination before his fellow officers started commenting on it negatively, even if he  _ was _ Sideswipe’s commanding officer.

The problem wasn’t even the pranks, not really. Yes, those were irritating, but as many others had told him repeatedly since Sideswipe was stationed on the Ark, they were harmless. He never caused any lasting damage and he always accepted Prowl’s punishment duties to clean up the messier ones. Pit, even Ironhide had been amused when the frontliner went ahead and dumped paint on Ratchet in the ugliest shade of yellow-green ( _ Chartreuse,  _ Sunstreaker had sneered when other soldiers had simplified it as Ironhide did) he could find. He’d been very careful to keep his amusement hidden at the time, because if he laughed then Sideswipe would think that it was  _ okay _ . 

No, the problem wasn’t the pranking itself. The problem was that Sideswipe was repeatedly bending rules, skirting regulations, and blatantly disobeying orders in order to pull them off. More importantly Ironhide  _ knew  _ that Sideswipe was getting most of his supplies from Swindle, and he was determined to find evidence to prove it.

Hours passed before Sideswipe was sure that Ironhide had given up the chase. When he was sure, he left his hiding place and made his way to the rec room. He wanted to get some energon before he got sent off to clean up his mess.

“He’s right, you know.”

Sideswipe didn’t jump. One thing about being a twin was that he knew exactly where his brother was at all times. Instead, he just shrugged and kept walking, smiling as Sunstreaker fell into step next to him and they made their way to the rec room together.  “Nah, he’s Ironhide. Don’t know no mech named ‘right’.”

“Ha. Ha.” Sunstreaker’s dry tone made Sideswipe burst into a fit of giggles, and he couldn’t stop them before they walked into the rec room. His giggling earned them a few curious glances, before everyone focused again on what they had been doing before the twins arrived. Sunstreaker made a derisive noise, and Sideswipe tried to stifle himself at least a little. He knew that too much attention bothered his brother. A few mechs waved in greeting, a few lifted and turned their helm in a strange mimicry of a human’s eye roll, expressing their amusement and exasperation at Sideswipe for baiting Ironhide once again.

Sunstreaker ignored them all, as was his habit, and headed straight for the fueling station. “I’m serious. I know that  _ we’re _ perfect, but other mecha  _ aren’t _ . One day, you’re going to pull a prank on some unsuspecting idiot, or at the wrong time or place, and someone is going to get hurt.”  He dimmed his optics and turned, fixing Sideswipe with a glare as he caught the tail end of a thought flitting through his brother’s mind. “Yes that counts!”

Sideswipe sighed theatrically, shoulders dropping and face contorting into a pout.  “Aw Sunny, ya know I don’t mean no harm. It’s just a bit of fun, and anyway it’s not like ya care if anyone gets hurt, right?”

“I care if  _ you _ get hurt.” Sunstreaker shoved a cube into Sideswipe’s arms and steered him toward a table, falling silent as he took the conversation to their bond instead. It was a little trickier to communicate that way, but the twins had been doing it since their sparks first split. 

Thoughts flickered from one mind to the other, and back and forth they went, emotions sometimes ghosting alongside them. Sideswipe would make a suggestion, Sunstreaker would shoot it down. Sunstreaker would criticize, and Sideswipe would cut him off with a burst of indignation. Sunstreaker had strength and resolve however, and just pushed harder. He was determined to make Sideswipe understand. In turn, Sideswipe wanted  _ Sunstreaker  _ to understand his position. A bit of an argument ensued there, a furious exchange of frustration and impatience. It ended with an apology from Sideswipe that he only half meant, and an exasperated one in turn from Sunstreaker. Sideswipe’s next thought was somewhat imploring, though he tried to keep things calm. Sunstreaker understood, of course he did, and he made a suggestion, pushing Sideswipe to consider it. 

Sideswipe leaned back, eyeing Sunstreaker warily, but nodded his helm and focused on his energon. “I’ll try,” he muttered, bringing the conversation back outside their sparks. Anyone listening might be confused by the strange non-sequitur, as only a klik or so had passed since they went silent. “But I make no promises, and if I end up antsy and charged up, I’m demanding payment in cuddles and fun. And I know you know what I mean.” Sunstreaker shook his helm, but he was smiling, just a bit. 

“It’s a deal. But remember, a whole Terran month Sideswipe. And it’s July, not February, so don’t you dare stop at 28 days.”

“Okay, okay! Jeez, Sun, no faith. No faith at all.” Sideswipe huffed and sipped at his energon. Naturally, his protests were all in good humor. He did actually agree with Sunstreaker, that he’d maybe been pushing Ironhide’s buttons a little too much lately. The mech was damn scary when he wanted to be. It really might be better to ease up for a while and give the old mech time to chill out before he turned some of that scary on Sideswipe. It wasn’t that either of them felt that he couldn’t take Ironhide if he had to, but Sideswipe was actually somewhat fond of their commanding officer. He thought of him almost like a father figure, and he didn’t want to incur his hatred.

Still, behaving himself for an entire month seemed like it was asking a bit much. They followed the human calendar now, so it wasn’t as long as an astronomical equivalent might have been for Cybertron, but it was still longer than he would have liked. Sideswipe was used to pulling pranks, making jokes, and shooting off sarcastic comments multiple times every day. Now Sunstreaker wanted him to stop  _ all _ of it for a  _ month _ ?

Well, that wasn’t entirely true. He could keep making jokes, and sarcasm was okay among the ranks. The challenge was no pranks at all, and no mouthing off at the officers. That sounded all kinds of  _ not fun at all _ . 

Sideswipe would do it, though, because Sunstreaker wanted him to.

He was also getting a little concerned about Ironhide’s anger over the whole thing, even if he would never admit that to anyone out loud. It was better to take a break from things and come back when he had fresh ideas and Ironhide wasn’t quite so volatile.

In the meantime, sipping at his energon and lost in thought, Sideswipe worked on devising ways to keep himself busy and entertained without breaking his deal with Sunstreaker.


End file.
